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N.M. voters head to polls

N.M. voters head to polls

SANTA FE  With Election Day finally at hand, candidates across New Mexico focused their attention at getting supporters to the polls.

Only Democrats and Republicans can vote in todays primary election. Winners of races will become the party nominees in the November general election.

An average of 28 percent of registered Democrats and Republicans have cast ballots in presidential election year primaries in New Mexico since 1996.

Brian Sanderoff, an Albuquerque pollster, said Monday he expected voter turnout to be average or slightly lower.

Really, its going to take some of the local or legislative races to increase turnout because there are many top-of-the-ticket races that are either unopposed or just not hotly contested, Sanderoff said.

Four years ago, about 274,000 Democrats and Republicans  31 percent of eligible primary voters  cast ballots. However, there were contested races in each of the states three congressional districts in 2008 because all of the seats were open as the incumbents sought other offices.

The race for president tops the ballot, but President Barack Obama is unopposed on the Democratic side and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has locked up the GOP nomination.